Soaring!! Pretty Cure
''Soaring!! Pretty Cure ''(ソリング！！プリキュア Soringu!! Purikyua) ''is a Japanese magical girl anime produced by Toei Animation in the long-running ''Pretty Cure franchise, as well as the first season directed by Hiromi Egawa. The series’ motifs are the sky, birds, flight, travel and navigational systems, while some recurring themes are physical/mental illness and overcoming it, self-love and self-care, uniqueness and individuality and accepting others who are different. Synopsis Ever since prehistoric times, the sky kingdom of Avion has always had a hiearchy between those who were considered weak and disabled and those that weren’t; the ones who did being looked down upon and shunned away from society. This got to the point where it split the kingdom in half due to the numerous wars this hiearchy caused. The king and queen of Avion sent one of their eldest daughters, Plume, to be the balancer between these two sides. For many years to come, the kingdom was at peace, until one day, when Plume suddenly disappeared without a trace. Without her presence, the barrier dividing the two sides vanished. This lead to another war, this time even greater and more catastrophic. While Avion's two sides were distracted by the ongoing war, an unknown force by the name of Meridian begun an attack on the kingdom without any of the inhabitants realizing it at first. Soon, Meridian’s attacks grew in scale and caused even more catastrophe than the war did. The war came to a halt as the two sides tried to flee from the kingdom to escape the clutches of this new threat. All while this happened, Plume’s sisters suspected Meridian was the cause of her disappearance, and went to the place she usually resided to investigate. They discovered three quills and compasses in her place. One of the sisters had read about a legend, one that told the tale of a group of magical warriors that would bring the two sides of Avion together and unite them once and for all; the Pretty Cure. Believing that Plume intentionally left the trinkets in her place as a form of last resort, and that the trinkets themselves would help find these warriors, the sisters sent the objects through the transport system, scattering them through the sky, in hope that their kingdom could be restored to its former glory. They also sent two fairies - a brother and a sister - to follow the trinkets in order to find the warriors and lead them back to Avion. In order for their plan to go through, the sisters cast a spell that spread throughout the land, turning the whole kingdom into solid ice, postponing any more destruction to the kingdom until the two fairies return. But before the whole kingdom could be affected by this frozen spell, Meridian learned of the sisters’ plan and sent some of their own affiliates to Earth in order to thwart it and stop the two fairies from ever finding the Pretty Cure. Those who escaped Avion lived in hiding on Earth for the time being, including the affiliates Meridian sent, waiting for the time to strike if ever the Pretty Cures are found. The trinkets happened to all land in the same place; the sleepy town of Heiseigaoka, Japan. However, unbeknownst to the sisters and to the fairies, there were four quills and four compasses left behind. Someone took one pair of them. The individual who took them happened to find the trinkets years before the sisters, and along with the Pretty Cure he found with those trinkets, is on the run from Meridian. Characters Pretty Cure "Returning light to the heavens and spreading hope to the world! Leading the flock, Soaring Pretty Cure!" 天に光を返し、世界に希望を広める！群れを率いて、ソリングプリキュア！ Ten ni hikari o kaeshi, sekai ni kibou o hiromeru! Mure o hikite, Soringu Purikyua! * Ahina Wakatsuki (若月明日菜 Wakatsuki Ahina) ''/ '''Cure Flyway' (キュアフライウェイ Kyua Furaiuei) - The unofficial leader of the team. Ahina (often called ‘Hicchi’ (ひっち) by close friends) is a wheelchair-bound girl with paraplegia or paralysis in her lower half due to a car accident in her childhood, but that doesn’t stop her from being endearing and passionate about the things she loves. Although she can be delusional at times, she has a strong sense of justice and a need to help everyone. Ahina is part of the school’s astronomy club and is fascinated by the night sky and space. She has the ability to transform into Cure Flyway, the Pretty Cure of the Eagle, whose theme color is blue. * Kanna Amano '''(天野環奈 ''Amano Kanna) ''/ '''Cure Aerial (キュアエリアル Kyua Eriaru) ''- A girl born and raised in the tropical Okinawa Island of Japan, Kanna is very used to being in nature and the outdoors. She’s mute, but unlike Ahina, she feels like the condition is pulling her down. Not really having to talk, she has grown to be quite an introverted and timid person who strongly depends on others. Kanna is very knowledgeable on birds, her father being an ornithologist. She has the ability to transform into Cure Aerial, the Pretty Cure of the Warbler, whose theme color is pink. * 'Chie Hasegawa (長谷川智恵 ''Hasegawa Chie) ''/ '''Cure Current (キュアカレント Kyua Karento) ''- The captain of her school’s hockey team. She has neurocardiogenic syncope, a condition in which she gets fatigued and can faint easily, but she wants to prove everyone that she can challenge that and still be a solid athlete. She’s spunky and has a ‘don’t care what you think attitude’, wanting to live life to the fullest despite her condition. Her mother being a flight attendant, she’s seen a lot of the world and has a love for traveling. She has the ability to transform into Cure Current, the Pretty Cure of the Parrot, whose theme color is orange. * 'Yasuko Ito (意図康子 Ito Yasuko) ''/ '''Cure Horizon '(キュアホライゾン ''Kyua Horaizon) ''- The oldest of the group and a Cure prior to the season. She ran away from home after becoming a Pretty Cure and is currently settling down in Heiseigaoka as a transfer student when the series takes place. Although caring when you get to know her, she’s very cold on the surface and can be blunt and harsh with her words, mainly due to the fact that she’s overprotective and never lets her guard down. Yasuko has PTSD due to things that happened during her battles as a Cure. Seeing this as a weak point, the affiliates sent by Meridian converted her into a villain by the name of '''Celeste (セレステ Seresute) ''at the beginning of the series. Eventually, the rest of the Cures purified her and she officially joined the team. She has the ability to transform into Cure Horizon, the Pretty Cure of the Avocet, whose theme color is white. '''Mascots' * Merle '(メル ''Meru) - A butterfly-like fairy sent from Avion to find the legendary Pretty Cure, and Merlin’s older sister. Merle is always determined to fullfil her missions. She’s very unpredictable, her emotions are tough to handle and are forever changing. She can get irritated easily and she has sort of an inferiority complex. She’s also very overprotective of her younger brother. She ends her sentences in ‘~meru’. Her human form is known as Merumo Ozora (大空めるも Ozora Merumo). * 'Merlin '(メリン ''Merin) ''- A butterfly-like fairy sent from Avion to find the legendary Pretty Cure, and Merle’s younger brother. Merlin is quite the troublemaker; always finding ways to slack off and annoy the people around him. Although he doesn’t show it much, he does care for his older sister in some way. He ends his sentences in ‘~meri’. His human form is known as '''Minoru Ozora (大空みのる Ozora Minoru). * Wren (レン Ren) - The true identity of the lost hummingbird and Yasuko’s fairy partner. Before the fall of Avion, he used to be one of the king and queen of Avion’s youngest but most trusted generals. Much like Yasuko, he appears stoic and unfeeling, but he can be unknowingly clingy to others. Unbeknownst to everyone, he was the one who took the fourth quill and compass, as he also found out about the Pretty Cure legend. He only took one pair of the trinkets, thinking he’d find each Cure one at a time and retrieve another pair after he found the last, but unfortunately, fate had other plans. As he‘s an easy target for Meridian due to being a partner of a Cure, he and Yasuko are constantly on the run from their affiliates. During this period, he was put under a curse by an unknown affiliate, leaving him half-brain dead and unable to communicate with his Cure partner, rendering him a normal hummingbird. However, his curse was broken in episode 11 using the Earth’s Polaring. He ends his sentences in ‘~ren’, but he hides this and stops himself from adding it to the end of his sentences, thinking it sounds dumb. His human form is known as Ren Torikawa (鳥皮れん Torikawa Ren). [[Meridian|'Meridian']] * Zaffre (ザフレ Zafure) ''- The first affiliate sent by Meridian. Zaffre is loud and flamboyant, always boasting about his achievements and often quarrels with the rest of his team. He desperately wants to go solo, but the others insists he stay since he has the most creative ways to summon Shogais. Though he has a boastful and foolish personality, out of all the affiliates, he’s shown to be the most sympathetic and forgiving. * 'Maya' (マヤ ''Maya) ''- The second affiliate sent by Meridian. Maya is a mysterious woman, never seeming to speak or react greatly to anything. She usually only replies in nods, head shakes or other gestures, but when she does speak, it’s usually something profound or of great importance. Landing on Earth after Avion turned to ice, Maya found herself in Okinawa. After learning that the trinkets landed in Heiseigaoka, a much different location from where she was at, she donned the name '''Aya Shiraishi' (白石綾 Shiraishi Aya) and married Riku, Kanna’s father to take advantage of the family. After they were wed, she insisted they move to Yokohama to get closer to finding the Cures. She often neglects the Amano family in favor of her ‘work’, her villain duties disguised as an office desk job, causing Kanna to have a strong hatred towards her. * Brandeis (ブランデイス Burandeisu) - The third affiliate sent by Meridian. Brandeis is the self-proclaimed ‘big, tough guy’ of the group. He’s the laziest out of the four and always leaves his duties for someone else, but always takes the credit whenever he can. He always calls himself the leader of the affiliates, when they in fact have no leader and he does the least work. He often gets involved in petty fights with Zaffre over childish and trivial things. * Aegan '(エーガン ''Eegan) ''- The fourth affiliate sent by Meridian. He’s curious about how human society works. He finds enjoyment in the pain of others and is usually the most brutal when it comes to how his summoned Shogais work, mainly because he had a rough childhood and used to ‘experiment’ with bugs and other small creatures to let out his anger, and now on Earth, he lets out that same anger on humans. * 'Majorelle (マジョレル Mejoreru) - '' After the spell wore off on Avion and the kingdom thawed, Meridian realized the affiliates they sent - as well as the trinkets - hadn’t returned. Realizing they sent some of their ‘less capable’ affiliates, they sent another affiliate by the name of Majorelle to keep an eye on the four already on Earth. She is easily the strongest and isolates herself from the rest. She is no-nonsense and wants to get the job done as quickly as possible. Though she appears as strong and full of confidence, she relies and depends so much on others to feel that confidence and loves to receive praise. * 'Admiral Bleu' (提督ブルー ''Teitoku Buruu) - The head of Meridian. Not much is known about him or his true motives other than that he’s a menacing figure that looms over the organization, scaring even the strongest of affiliates. * Shogai (しょがい) - Shogai serve as the monsters of the week. They’re created by taking something in a person that the summoner sees as a weakness or disability and using its energy to take form of another object. Once someone is turned into a Shogai, the person turns into an empty, lifeless, monotone doll until the Shogai is purified. Its upgraded, more powerful form is known as a Jushogai (じゅしょがい). [[Avion|'Avion']] * Plume '''(プルーム ''Puruumu) ''- One of Avion’s princesses and the one chosen as the balancer to keep the two sides at bay. Before her disappearance, she was a described as a carefree, down to earth lady who is overly determined and never stops until she gets the job done, which is one of the reasons why she’s so skilled in magic. No one knows of her current whereabouts, though it is speculated that Meridian took her away. It is revealed that Plume is kept in a coma-like state by Meridian so that her life force can be used as a source of energy to create Shogai. '''Earth * Jun Saito '(斎藤純 ''Saito Jun) ''- Ahina’s childhood friend and closest confidante who is also part of the astronomy club and has an interest in Japanese fashion and subcultures. She quickly befriends both Merle and Merlin after meeting them. * 'Mio Saito '(斎藤美緒 ''Saito Mio) ''- Jun’s older sister who helps run their family’s trinket shop and often gives the Cures advice. * 'Norio Saito (斎藤紀夫 Saito Norio) ''- Jun and Mio’s father and the founder of Takaramonorio, a trinket and souvenir shop. * 'Reo Wakatsuki (若月礼央 Wakatsuki Reo) ''- One of Ahina’s brothers and the eldest child. He is in his senior year of college, the Wakatsuki family having mixed feelings over if he should leave the country or not, wanting to pursue a job in America. * 'Touma Wakatsuki '(若月冬馬 ''Wakatsuki Touma) - One of Ahina’s brothers and the middle child. He is in his sophomore year of college and is the one gave Ahina the nickname ‘Hicchi’. * 'Ichiro Wakatsuki '(若月一郎 Wakatsuki Ichiro) - Ahina’s father. * [[Hitomi Wakatsuki|'''Hitomi Wakatsuki]] (若月瞳 Wakatsuki Hitomi) - Ahina’s mother. * Riku Amano '(天野陸 ''Amano Riku) ''- Kanna’s father. He’s an ornithologist and nature enthusiast, as he had been living in Okinawa for most of his life. He was disappointed about the move to Yokohama, but he eventually got used to the new environment. He’s the more optimistic one out of him and Kanna’s stepmother, always encouraging Kanna to do whatever she feels is best for her. * 'Rino Amano '(天野莉乃 ''Amano Rino) ''- Kanna’s biological mother who passed away when she was a child. She was the first one who taught Kanna how to speak sign language, and often links most of her childhood memories to her. Kanna can sometimes get overly emotional by just mentioning her name, so she prefers not to. * 'Mayu Hasegawa '(長谷川麻友 ''Hasegawa Mayu) ''- Chie’s mother. She’s a flight attendant who often likes to take the rest of her family on trips, causing them to have a passion for travelling like she does. She used to be young and ambitious but she’s since grown to be weary and somewhat cynical of the world. * 'Minari Ito (意図身形 Ito Minari) - Yasuko’s mother who worries about her daughter’s reclusiveness and whereabouts ever since she ran away from home after fully submitting to her Pretty Cure duties. * Nina Vasquez (ニナ バスケス Nina Basukesu) ''- A foreign exchange student from Mexico who was originally discriminated against, but has been treated a lot more nicely and welcomingly due to Ahina’s help. '''Items' * PreQuill (プリクイル Purikuiru) - The first half of the Cures’ transformation devices. Before a Cure first transforms, they’re disguised as individual everyday objects (a keychain for Ahina, a decoration for Kanna and a pair of earrings for Chie). Although they resemble quills, they can be used as regular pens in the Cures’ everyday lives. * [[Azure Compass|'Azure Compass']] (アジュール コンパス Azuuru Konpasu) - The second half of the Cure’s transformation devices. They’re pacts that resemble compasses. To transform, the Cure needs to draw an angel wing on its surface while reciting ‘Pretty Cure, Navigation!’, and its arrows will start spinning, beginning the transformation. The compass leads the Cures to important locations when they’re needed, such as locations of Polarises, but other than that, it can’t work like a regular compass. * CureScope (キュアスコープ KyuaSukoopu) - The Cures’ weapons that allow them to do their upgraded finishers. They’re scepters that resemble telescopes, and a Cure is able to use theirs once they overcome something internally that’s been hindering them. * Polaris (ポラリス Porarisu) - The pure manifestation of a realm’s life source. Every dimension that currently exists in the universe has one and is contained in a vessel, usually an object, statue or location, but occasionally a person. If a realm loses all its Essence, it will become lifeless and cease to exist. Once a portion of a Polaris is taken from its source, it will solidify into a charm called a Polaring (ポラリング Poraringu) which can be used to power up the CureScopes, making these serve as the collectibles of the series. The Cures’ main goal is to collect as many Polarings as possible, which will hopefully build up enough power to defeat Meridian and save Avion. Locations *'Heiseigaoka' (平静ヶ丘) - A sleepy town in the Kanagawa Prefecture and the setting of Soaring!! Pretty Cure. It was named after the peaceful and serene environment as well as the various hills it was built on, making it a popular place for stargazing. * Nakidori Academy (鳴き鳥学園 Nakidori Gakuen) - The school the Cures attend. It’s composed of both junior and senior high school and is known for its spacious campus and observatory. Ahina and Jun are part of it‘s astronomy club. * Takaramonorio (タカラモノリオ) - The trinket and souvenir shop the Saito family runs, named after Norio Saito, it’s founder. The Saito family lives on the second floor of the building. * [[Aotori University|'Aotori University']] (青鳥大学 Aotori Daigaku) - The university Reo and Touma, Ahina’s brothers attend located just outside Heiseigaoka. * Avion (アヴィオン Avion) - A sky kingdom that lies right along the borderline of space, located exactly at 263,900 feet in the sky. It is best known for its cross-dimensional transport system. An ice spell was cast by the kingdom’s princesses to hold off the war until the Pretty Cures are found, but the spell wears off midway through the series as the princesses can’t hold it for too long. * [[True North|'True North']] (トゥルーノース Touru Noosu) - A dimension located in the most northern area of the universe and the birthplace of new Polarises. It is the only dimension that doesn’t have a transport path to other dimensions, as the amount of magic inside it can be as deadly as it is powerful if not wielded or controlled properly. Voice Cast Merchandise Trivia * The series is commonly abbreviated as SoriPuri (ソリプリ) in the Japanese-speaking fanbase and SoarPre in the English-speaking fanbase. * This is the first series to have a blue lead Cure instead of a pink one. * This is the first series with all Cures being high school-aged. * This is the first series where the initial Cures don’t debut within the first four episodes. * The series is noted to be much darker than previous seasons, touching on topics like mental illness. * The affiliates of Meridian are named after different shades of blue. Category:Sky Themed Series Category:Bird Themed Series Category:Series directed by Hiromi Egawa Category:User:K1LLERWHALES